Mar. 14, 2014
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by Marco della Cava, USA TODAY

by Marco della Cava, USA TODAY

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Creative explosions have many different sparks. Including fear.

For Jaideep and Sandhya Jain, the prospect of their teenage son starting to drive led directly to their start-up venture, Truvolo, or true "speed" in Latin, which aims to monitor car health and improve driving habits through data nestled in every automobile's computer.

"It wasn't about wanting to spy on him, but about making him a better driver," says Jaideep, 43, whose son, Anoop, is 16. "I looked at the statistics, and the first year of anyone's driving life has the most incidents, simply because you think you know everything but, of course, you don't."

That simple and universal parental concern struck the Jain family, which includes daughter Sahana, 12, at an opportune moment. Jaideep and Sandhya, 46, Indian emigrants who met pursuing computer science master's degrees at Kansas State University, had reached a point in their tech careers where they were ready to use a small nest egg to try and build something together leveraging her software talents and his data-analytics skills.

Over the past year, the Jains have beta tested and refined Truvolo's key components, which include a small transmitter that plugs into a car's On-Board Diagnostic port and an Android-based app that synthesizes that data into useful bites.

A recently concluded Indiegogo campaign for the product - which retails for $99 and is available for pre-order on the company's website - did not meet its goal, but the Jains are pressing ahead and aim to shift from self-funded to Series A funding this spring and ship product in July.

Truvolo monitors both car and driver. The former's status in fact is constantly checked by the computers in modern cars. But where that information is typically reserved for mechanics when they service a vehicle, "We can send you alerts that suggest taking a look at aspects of your car before it breaks down," says Jaideep, whose work in the semiconductor equipment field focused on predicting when laser-etching machines would break down.

Specifically, he uses the example of gradually decreasing fuel economy, something a driver isn't likely to notice but a computer could link to clogged fuel injectors. "We're about two things: Is the car safe, and is the driver safe?" he says.

It's this second category that directly addressed the Jains' concerns about their family's newest driver.

Using a built-in accelerometer, Truvolo takes note of G-forces that translate to abrupt acceleration, deceleration and swerving, all of which are reported via the app at the end of each trip. Using the linked smartphone's GPS, Truvolo also will automatically alert others when you've arrived at your destination.

Last summer, a few dozen of the Jain family's friends tried the device; their feedback proved invaluable.

"What we heard from them was, first of all, 'Don't distract the driver,' which is why the device doesn't relay information in real time but at the end of a trip," says Sandhya. "They also asked, 'If you know where I tend to drive to, how can you help me?' So we have a feature that will alert you to the best route. Sure, you can go to Google Maps and do that, but we're making one place for all your car-related needs."

The Jains are accelerating into a space with growing traffic. Automatic also features a plug-in device mated to an app for $99, and currently is available for iPhone and, coming soon, Android. Also similar in scope and function is MetroMile, which currently is in free beta-testing mode. The race is on.

"Investors are already saying this will be an important category in the years to come," says Reilly Brennan, executive director of the Revs program at Stanford University, which funds mobility-related projects across departments.

"In five to 10 years, the government will be regulating car-to-car communication, and car-to-roadside sensors, as vehicles grow in sophistication and intelligence," says Brennan. "It stands to reason that entrepreneurs are working hard to make sense of the data generated by cars so that they benefit the drivers."

Brennan adds that a combination of autonomous vehicles and increasing life spans will "soon bring a revolutionary number of ideas and innovations in what we call the quantified-car movement."

The Jains welcome the competition, and feel their product's family focus - Truvolo follows each driver vs. each car, allowing for an accumulation of personal driving data regardless of which car is used - can help distinguish it from the growing pack. Trips also can be segmented into categories, a specific request from the Jains' real estate broker friends.

"That's helpful when you need to keep track of mileage on trips for tax reasons," says Sandhya, adding that she and her husband are in discussions with real estate companies about placing Truvolo devices in Realtors' cars. They've also met with insurance company executives about having users' post-trip scores figure into safe-driver discounts.

"I think people might be concerned (about being tracked) if they got a device from an insurance company," says Jaideep. "But they might feel more comfortable if it came directly from an independent party with secure servers that only passed on miles driven and trip score."

For now, the Jains remain thrilled about their start-up quest, which finds them sharing a spartan office in downtown San Jose along with platform developer Aleks Sheynkman. "It's great, but it can be quiet," says Sandhya. "I miss the gossip by the water cooler, or the big catered lunch, even if you don't eat it."

Helping husband and wife toggle between work and family life is "their shared passion as well as a great sense of humor," says John Lee, CEO of Gear Design Solutions and a longtime family friend.

"A venture capitalist I know said you invest in people who do something they know and who love what they do. Jaideep and Sandhya know data analytics, and they love what they're doing," says Lee. "The fact that they're self-funded is good. It keeps them lean and hungry and focused on success."

And just how is young Anoop's driving these days? His mother laughs.

"I knew you would ask," Sandhya says with a laugh, admitting that when Anoop recently drove a few miles to volunteer at a senior center, Mom and Dad used their position as Truvolo administrators to look at real-time data of his eventless drive. "He's pretty good. But ask me again in about six months."

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WHO: Jaideep Jain, 43

WHAT: Co-founder with his wife, Sandhya, 46, of Truvolo, a car-monitoring device and app.

WHERE: San Jose, Calif.

BEST ADVICE YOU'VE GOTTEN: "Jeff Benzing (executive vice president of engineering at Novellus Systems) said, 'Make your product like air and water, easy to consume but you cannot live without them.' This philosophy has been key for keeping our product very simple to use."

DREAM PROJECT BESIDES WHAT YOU'RE WORKING ON NOW: "I love photography. It's a unique way to capture a moment and make it last a lifetime. I want to spend six months to a year traveling in India photographing temples, local culture and the beautiful vistas of the Himalayas."

BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF BEING AN ENTREPRENEUR: "When Sandhya and I started Truvolo, everybody told us it was a bad idea to start a business with your spouse. But I think a spouse I've been married to for over 20 years makes a great co-founder. This may not be for everyone, but just like any other co-founder, if you complement each other's skills it can work well."

USA TODAY's Change Agents series highlights innovators and entrepreneurs looking to change business and culture with their vision. E-mail Marco della Cava at mdellacava@usatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter: @marcodellacava.